Anomalous Damping of Large-Amplitude Electron Plasma Oscillations

Abstract
With computer experiments we investigate the behavior of large-amplitude, high-phase-velocity plasma oscillations in an electron-ion plasma. The experiments show that such a wave, when above a given threshold amplitude, produces an instability that results in its anomalous damping. The results are in agreement with theory. This is one mechanism by which large-amplitude electrostatic oscillations generated by an instability (for example, by the two-stream instability) can be dissipated.